Hot plates for smelting

Boolit Mold Join DateMay 2013Posts11

Hey all,

I am a newb to casting - I smelted down ~25lbs of range lead this past weekend and found out quickly that i could not get my propane heater down to a low enough temperature to keep from seperating the tin/antimony and getting the gold/blue death on the top of the pot. I will get getting a bottom pour pot for actual casting, but have ~100# more of range lead to smelt into ingots and want to work at understanding what I am doing wrong better before casting bullets. My question to you all - Is anyone out there using hot plates to smelt lead itself? I know cheap ones are used for keeping molds in proper temp range. I just feel as if a hot plate would be much easier, and cheaper in the long run for smelting. As i can get a consistent temperature and no use of propane. If no body is using hot plates, might i ask why? Does anyone know of any hot plates that can reach the desired temperature that dont cost an arm and a leg.

Thanks,
Aaron

Not many of us are using hot plates for smelting because it slows us down so much. Takes WAY too long. You don't have to spend a bundle, though, to do it right. I got a fish fryer from Wally's - about 35 bux. Got a cast iron 8 qt dutch oven from Harbor Freight - about 20 bux. Get a propane bottle and you're in high cotton. Much faster AND better all around. Mike

I saw Elvis at 1000 feet. John Force

Boolit Master Join DateJun 2011LocationNorthwest MontanaPosts250

What type of propane heater are you using? All of the ones I have seen you can turn down to a very minimal flame making the heat control very easy. Hot plates are real slow for smelting, unless you only have a small batch to do. They are best served as mold and ingot heaters.

Shad

I believe in gold, silver, & lead, and the rights of free honest men... You can keep the "CHANGE"!

I used a hot plate for years, but for me it definitely was a small batch operation. Then I found an old propane fish cooker I'd forgotten about. Being able to mix 30-40 pounds of alloy at a time surely made the process a lot easier. I could double that weight, but 30-40 is enough alloy for me to stir and dip at one time.

As far as cost, you're going to have to be a bit more specific. An arm and a leg for me (and others) is probably quite different than an A&L for you.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.", old Chinese proverb.

In my experience the Gold/blue on top of the lead just means you have a very soft mix, my pure lead does that. If the mix is getting too hot then you are leaving it on the heat to long. As soon as it melts and looks good dipper it out. I know my hotplate would probably never melt any decent amount of WW. I used to use a Coleman stove but now I use 2 turkey fryers for my big batches, and the propane has always worked very well. What kind of propane melter are you using that gets so hot?

http://www.whyteleatherworks.com/

My preference is to use a wood fire to melt my range lead, a lot quicker than the propane burner. I can do about 130# in one shot in a cut off Freon tank. Once I remove all the jackets and rocks I flux it a couple times real good and ladle it out into the ingot molds.
Are you fluxing?

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. H.L. Mencken

Hey all,

I am a newb to casting - I smelted down ~25lbs of range lead this past weekend and found out quickly that i could not get my propane heater down to a low enough temperature to keep from seperating the tin/antimony and getting the gold/blue death on the top of the pot...

Thanks,
Aaron

Where the heck are you getting your information? Those are just color phases that any shinny metal goes through between about 450F and 600F. It just happens that Pb alloys are molten in this temp range.

MJ

P.S.

Here ya go...

Notice at 630F, the color is fading to gray? At normal casting temp's (650F-750F) the color is gray so there's no discernible color cast when your alloy is at the proper operating temperature.

Last edited by Marlin Junky; Yesterday at 12:49 PM.

It's not about gun control, it's about people control. The progressives are using terrorists and the insane to further their agenda. If the socialist news media wasn't complicit, we could sit back and watch Fast & Furious and Benghazi-gate unfold.

Marlin,

I don't understand the right side of that chart.

When I fire up my pot, when it is half full of any normal bullet alloy, the metal is grey - silver/grey and it never changes within any normal casting temperature.

When I get distracted and let it cook for 30 or 45 minutes it might get a purple / blue / gold film on top but that is only on top. The alloy is still silver/grey under the film.

I do note the colorful film is much more prevalent on pure lead.

Maybe I am just color blind?

Do you really see those colors in your pot?

First reload: .22 Hornet. 1956.

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Boolit Mold Join DateMay 2013Posts11

Information found >http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=189902

And one other link with a write-up that seemed to contain lots of valuable information. Will see if i can dig it up.

Boolit Mold Join DateMay 2013Posts11

Marlin,

I don't understand the right side of that chart.

When I fire up my pot, when it is half full of any normal bullet alloy, the metal is grey - silver/grey and it never changes within any normal casting temperature.

When I get distracted and let it cook for 30 or 45 minutes it might get a purple / blue / gold film on top but that is only on top. The alloy is still silver/grey under the film.

I do note the colorful film is much more prevalent on pure lead.

Maybe I am just color blind?

Do you really see those colors in your pot?

This is what i am seeing. And i am assuming that most of my lead is pure due to it being 99% jacketed bullets. From the little i have read, they dont mix anything with the lead in jacketed bullets. Still really new to all of this so please feel free to interject.

Boolit Master Join DateJun 2011LocationNorthwest MontanaPosts250

This is what i am seeing. And i am assuming that most of my lead is pure due to it being 99% jacketed bullets. From the little i have read, they dont mix anything with the lead in jacketed bullets. Still really new to all of this so please feel free to interject. I wouldn't assume anything with range scrap. I too hear some say that it should be almost pure, but all the range scrap I have dealt with comes in from 12 to 15 bhn and it's all from jacketed. I have tested many samples from different batches. In fact.. sometimes I can see on the pieces where many jacketed bullets have smashed together and the lead actually sparkles. This scrap definitely has antimony in it.

Do you use a thermometer? This will tell you if you are getting to hot. Some don't, but I use one every time.

Shad

I believe in gold, silver, & lead, and the rights of free honest men... You can keep the "CHANGE"!

Boolit Mold Join DateMay 2013Posts11

Now that i have more time...

I am using a propane cooker my father made years ago to frying big batches of wings. It has a ball valve on it that can control the flame - but as i said, i am still very new at this. I probably need more experience. I cranked it up hard and realized that everything was actually melted and it was just so full of jackets that i didnt realized, so i skimmed jackets off and turned heat back a lot. I fluxed with sawdust from my table saw a few times. then i started getting an almost instant gold skim on the top... if i let it sit for a few minutes it turned blueish. almost black. i fluxed quite a few more times thinking maybe it was some junk i didnt want. ended up saying the hell with it and poured it all out into ingots and did a little homework i probably should have done before. That is what lead me to the conclusion i had the melt too hot. But i am unsure if this is true or not. My issue is that for the time being, i am going to be using a dipper to cast my bullets. I think that crud on the top would be no-good for molding bullets. but maybe i am completely wrong. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

I currently use hot plates to smelt (and to mold, for that matter), since that is what I have and is what I can afford right now. It is slow, but it does work. I did have to modify the switch so that it doesn't cut off the electricity, which kept the lead from melting. I use some cast iron pots that were given to me. They hold about 7 or 8 pounds.

Glenn

I used a hot plate I bought from Walgreens. It was utter garbage. The auto-shutoff function of the plate prevented steady heat for more than a couple minutes, at most. It was awful. Lead cools & hardens very quickly, especially if you are monitoring the temp to prevent Zinc melt.

I switched over to a turkey fryer & steel pot. Works great.

ZAG

The Zombies, They're Coming! And those boolits aren't gonna cast themselves!

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